Today's musings are about receiving wine samples and how to declare that they are samples. These pictures are of bottles that I put together when I make my wines. Sometimes I out labels on them but often I do not. If I give them to someone, I declare it's home made. These are my Super-Teaneck... Continue Reading →
Wines of Lombardy: Azienda Noventa, Botticino DOC – Brescia
I'm reposting this article I wrote about Alessandra from Azienda Noventa in the Botticino DOC area, in the province of Brescia. I met Alessandra in July 2017 at her winery. I had met her husband at Vinitaly in April and arranged to visit them. I gave a seminar on the Wines of Lombardy at the... Continue Reading →
Throwback Thursday: Adventures in Winemaking
I found this post from May 2008, 11 years ago. It about my first vintage which I called a Super-Teaneck. Teaneck is where my parent’s porch and my cellar are located. It’s a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. My best guess and I confess it is a real approximation is that the wine is... Continue Reading →
Monday Musings: Wine Labels
Today's Monday musings post is about wine labels. Usually when I think or write about wine labels, it's more about the content on the labels or the pictures but never really about the shape and size. This weekend I finally began to consider labelling my own wine. I have made wine four times and have... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Winemaking: Due Gatti Fourth Vintage
Due Gatti is the name of my wine. I was going to call it Susannah's Selections and varietally label it but I opted for this name. As a cat lover, I thought it fit. These two handsome tabbies that are on my label live in the home where I make my wine so it seemed... Continue Reading →
Home Winemaking Adventures: Due Gatti 2017 Moscato
I became a home winemaker in 2006. I ran out and bought all kinds of equipment at our local grape supplier, Corrados, and promptly did everything wrong. I pressed, racked and filtered the wine that year and used cultured yeast. I did not measure the sugars, I did not add sulphur, I put the wine... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Müller Thurgau Bianco
Muller Thurgau is a variety that was created in the 1880s in Germany by Hermann Müller who was Swiss at Geisenheim. He was from Thurgau in Switzerland, hence the name of the variety. It came to Italy in 1939 in the Trentino Alto Adige. The parents of the variety seem to be Riesling and a... Continue Reading →
Amateur Winemaking Round 3: Super Teaneck In The Works
Back in September I bought a host of materials to try my hand at home winemaking. This is not my first time trying to make wine at home but I am hoping to be more successful this time around. I first made wine in my home in 2006. It was not a huge hit but... Continue Reading →
Texas Wine Industry: How Are they Faring Amid Harvey Devastation
Thinking about Texas and the wine industry there today as I watch the terrible scenes of flooding, devastation and drama. Death and loss are of course the most important subjects that I am thinking about today and the evolving threats to health and water supply. Still the Texas wine industry employs many people and as... Continue Reading →
Wine Wednesday: Moscato di Canelli from Agriturimo Rupestr – Giorgio Cirio
This Wine Wednesday is dedicated to Moscato di Canelli from Giorgio Cirio who owns the Agriturismo Rupestr. I met Giorgio at his agriturismo where a friend was having a birthday weekend for 50 of his closest friends. Lucky for me, we were including in the 50. The agriturismo was located in Canelli, Giorgio has two... Continue Reading →